Democracy, Quranocracy and Military interventions… what went wrong?

Title: The National Emblem
Title: The National Emblem

A news startled us today. The American government shut down today in political squabbles, disregarding the plight of it’s citizens. Utterly amazing, but understandable. As long as a pliant public is there, governments will continue to do the impossible- disregard the welfare of the people. I do not think the Pakistani government can ever be shut down, as long as the public remains. Once the public is dead, these brilliant politicians will depart for other homes, and find that they do not enjoy their previous clout at all. Then they would realize what nation-less citizens feel in life. Hazrat Umar used to stroll in disguise amongst the public to find the truth. So did Caliph Haroon-ur-Rasheed. Even Mahmud Ghaznavi had a private network to report to him the feelings of the people at large. Qutb-uddin Aibak embarked upon a grand plan of public rehabilitation. The Sultans and the Kings of this region tried their best to help the general public. Roads, Caravan series, free food boarding and lodging for people, expediting business in well. Just pick up contemporary records and you are startled how misleading is modern hype actually. Schools, colleges all were there. Professionals teaching their trades. Love of aesthetics aside, there was emphasis on mathematics, astronomy, geology, mining, manufacture of goods and Goods and services being done. Inter regional trade going on.Scientists calculating the circumference of the earth itself. Astrolabes measuring position of the stars. Ships and carriages being built. Arms and ammunition, yes, The finest swords in the world, with their own patented steel. Every period tried their best to solve things.And silly ads telling us to learn alif and bay only. And yes all that under KINGS.
In 65 years of Pakistan, the experiment between democracy and other systems have been tried all the time. Yes democracy worked under leaders like Quaid e Azam, and we see him stranded in an ambulance on the street of Karachi, awaiting help. And It was Quaid who told Dr Elahi Baksh that Liaquat Ali Khan had come just to see if he was still alive or not. ‘Tell him I am not dead yet’. I think people are knowing that well that democracy has utterly failed in Pakistan. Today the system will not elect Quaid e Azam himself from a local bodies election. And this Quaid who was fit to rule the entire world and to give his best to all, regardless of caste, color and creed.
Everyone in their hearts know that the greatest progress in Pakistan has been under the three military rules in Pakistan. The so called Parliamentary democracy (held in contempt by Quaid e Azam himself, for he believed in French Presidential system). What Field Marshal Ayub Khan did, no one has been able to do this day. And he resigned as a gentleman, and died a mysterious death in his house. The wife found him dead on his sofa in the morning after a tea session with unknown persons. I need not repeat what he did. From Islamabad the capital, to the water dams all over Pakistan, to progress in every field in the country. Pakistan won at games, sports, events. Musical and dance champions. When President Ayub waltzed in a dance with Queen Elizabeth, or was received by the Kennedys at the US Airport. It was respect that he gave to Pakistan all the time. No one can deny what he did for his country. And President Zia ul Haque is considered a demon now, but his achievements were not the less. He was no intellectual nor could understand any intricacy. But he did learn. He learnt what he did not know. And yes he died a martyred death under all counts. The Pervaiz Musharraf rule with all its flaws was still a brilliant one with his rhetoric of ‘Pakistan first’. Actually it is always Islam that is first and the saying was not Islamic in content. But he held the country intact too.

Title: Determination
Title: Determination

Once upon a time Kings used to educate their young Princes in art of national governance. The Prince was taught everything, from waging war to writing poetry. Our leaders cannot even sign their names properly with their rustic educational backgrounds and zero knowledge of world. A Prince was supposed to have acquired knowledge through books. I do not find book reading the fascination of any political leader.
Why did the Military fail three times? Because THOSE WERE NOT MILITARY COUPS AT All. They were military interventions at the BEHEST OF THE PUBLIC AT LARGE who got tired of the way things were going in the country. If you want to analyze a Military Coup, look at what has happened in Egypt. There it is a military coup, ousting a party with 65% backing of people. Or what happened in Iran when the government of Prime Minister Mussadaq was removed for the Shahenshah of Iran? Or elsewhere in many countries. Here the Military suffered for it aligned itself with politicians who helped in the failure of their rules. If they had left the admin to themselves, things would never have gone wrong.
Why is it so? For the Military comes from middle class families, with educational background and profound love for Pakistan. Betrayal to the country is not in their folklore. And they go though a rigid process of merit till the end. And then merit stops. And politicians take over.
The Quran speaks of values which are permanent and those which people can change through mutual agreement and majority rule. Democracy is not alien in concept to Islam, but there are limits to the power of democracy, for power and the principles are the prerogative of the one and only one Almighty Allah, and as taught to us by his last prophet, Hazrat Muhammed May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him.
An American lawyer from USA has aptly said that the Constitution of Pakistan was not made by a Constituent assembly and one can find legal issues to question its imposition. But that is not our task!
Our task is to make Pakistan strong, and we have to see why in this century, even our pedestrian cannot cross a road properly, and yet we can still make a nuclear bomb on our own. The disparity between haves and have nots have to be removed for Islam to emerge in the world in its fullest sense. Pakistan Forever! Pakistan Paindabad.

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